Marine Capt. Newel Bartlett, 30, is a pilot training officer for the Miramar-based VMM-161 squadron, the first operational military unit on the West Coast equipped with a fleet of the hybrid helicopter-airplanes known as the V-22 Osprey.

Bartlett has flown the Osprey for five years, including while on duty in Iraq, and is a supporter of the $90 million aircraft that has undergone numerous upgrades since a 2000 crash in Arizona killed 19 servicemen.

Miramar Marine Corps Air Station currently has eight Ospreys, two of which took to the sky during the weekend Air Show’s Marine Air-Ground Assault Demo.

We talk to Bartlett about the aircraft.

Q: Critics have called the aircraft the “widow maker.” What do you say to those who may still be leery of the Osprey because of its history?

A: I’d say look at its recent history. It had some trouble in development. In specific, it had that accident where 19 Marines died back in its developmental stages. But since then, it has had a relatively clean record. I think Marines hands down are safer flying in this aircraft than any other aircraft we have in the Marine Corp.

Q: Any limitations, greater concerns or expertise required to fly the Osprey?

A: No. Half of the people that come up and ask me, ‘I hear this is really hard to fly.’ I kind of wish so that I could be that guy who could be like, ‘I can fly a really hard aircraft.’ It’s not. It’s pretty simple to fly. Well, I wouldn’t say simple, but it requires no extra skill.

Q: What are the basic capabilities of the Osprey?

A: We can external lift 12,500 pounds. That could be a Humvee. We have a top speed of 280 knots, a max altitude of 25,000 feet unpressurized, so if we have passengers, that comes down to 13,000 feet. We carry 11,700 pounds of fuel; we can aerial refuel. Lift capacity: We can carry 24 combat-loaded Marines in here. The (Vietnam-era CH-46) Phrog has seats for 24, but due to its age and lack of engine upgrades, it can’t lift 24 combat-ready Marines and actually execute a mission.

Q: What is the primary use and what are the primary benefits of the Osprey?

A: Medium assault support, so moving combat troops, supplies and equipment across the battlefield. Primary advantage of it is they fly a lot faster. We can go a lot higher, and what that higher gets you is out of that threat envelope more, not completely out of it, but in a better position for it. Between that speed and altitude and the range, we provide a greater capability to Marine fighters, to war fighters out there. So we take a large battlefield and make it look a lot smaller because we can traverse that distance much quicker, and we’ve got the fuel and the range to be able to go that entire distance.